Havre Air Force Station | |
|---|---|
| 26 miles (42 km) northwest ofHavre, Montana[1] | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Controlled by |  United States Air ForceAir Defense Command |
| Location | |
  Havre AFS Location of Havre AFS, Montana | |
| Coordinates | 48°52′51″N109°56′42″W / 48.88083°N 109.94500°W /48.88083; -109.94500 (Havre AFS P-25)[2] |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1951 |
| In use | 1951–1979 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 778th Air Defense Group, 778th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (later 778th Radar Squadron) |
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Havre Air Force Station (site designator P-25, Z-25 after 31 July 1963) is aFormerly Used Defense Site that was used as aCold Wargeneral surveillance radar station. In addition to radar facilities and aNORAD Control Center the site had support services: NCO club, bowling alley, hobby shops, library, movie theater, barber shop, exchange, commissary, grade school, and housing for officers and senior NCOs.[3]
In late 1951Air Defense Command selected Simpson,Montana as a site for one of twenty-eightradar stations built as part of the second segment of the permanent radar surveillance network.[citation needed] Prompted by the start of theKorean War, on 11 July 1950, the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of the second segment of the permanent network. Receiving the Defense Secretary's approval on 21 July, the Air Force directed theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction.
On 1 March 1951 the 778th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was activated at Simpson[4] and began operatingAN/FPS-3 andAN/FPS-4 radars. Initially, the station functioned as aground control intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, thesquadron's role was to guideinterceptor aircraft toward unidentifiedintruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.
The site was renamed Havre Air Force Station on 1 December 1953.[4] The Air Force added anAN/GPS-3 radar c. late 1958 that stayed until 1965.
During 1961 Havre AFS joined theSemi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, when aBurroughs AN/FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitting Set was installed to transfer radar track data toAir Defense Direction Center DC-20 atMalmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.[citation needed] After joining SAGE, the squadron was redesignated as the 778th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 March 1961.[4] The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-25.
In the early 1960sAN/FPS-6 and AN/FPS-6B radars took over height-finder duties. The AN/FPS-6B was upgraded to anAN/FPS-90 in 1964; it was deactivated in 1969. In 1965 anAN/FPS-27 replaced the AN/GPS-3 as the search radar.
In addition to the main facility, Havre operated twoAN/FPS-18 Gap Filler sites:
Over the years, the equipment at the station was upgraded or modified to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the information gathered by the radars. The 778th Radar Sq was inactivated and replaced by the 778th Air Defense Group in March 1970.[4][5] The upgrade togroup status was done because of Havre AFS' status as aBackup Interceptor Control (BUIC) site. BUIC sites were alternate control sites in the event that SAGE Direction Centers became disabled and unable to control interceptor aircraft. The group was inactivated and replaced by the 778th Radar Squadron[4][5] as defenses against crewedbombers were reduced. Havre AFS was assigned to Malmstrom Air Force Base on 17 June 1974.[1]
Prior to the December 1979 breakup ofAerospace Defense Command, the Department of Defense announced the proposed closure of "40 obsolete air defense radar stations", 95 military and 25 civilian positions were lost[6] and Havre AFS closed on 1 July 1979. The 778th Radar Squadron did not inactivate until September.[4]
TheAnchor Academy, a school for troubled teenage boys, operated at the station in 2001,[7] and a few homes in the former military housing area are private residences.
Squadron
Group
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Further reading
